The Centre for Internet and Society
https://cis-india.org
These are the search results for the query, showing results 231 to 245.
Open Government Data Study
https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/open-government-data-study
<b>CIS produced a report on the state of open government data in India, looking at policy, infrastructure, and particular case studies, as well as emerging concerns, future strategies and recommendations. The report is authored by Glover Wright, Pranesh Prakash, Sunil Abraham, and Nishant Shah. We are grateful to the Transparency and Accountability Initiative for providing generous funding for this report.</b>
<p> </p>
<p>Cross-posted from the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.transparency-initiative.org/reports/open-government-data-study-india">Transparency and Accountability Initiative website</a>.</p>
<h2>Open Government Data Study: India</h2>
<p>India provides one of the most fascinating examples of the use of open government data in a developing country context. It has one of the best right to information laws in the world and the government’s approach to open data builds on this legacy of making open data relevant to Indian citizens. An estimated 456 million Indians live on less than $1.25 a day and a key issue for India, and other developing countries, is how open data can be accessible to them.</p>
<p>This paper reviews the progress being made towards open government data in India. Using case studies, it examines some of the pressing challenges facing the adoption of OGD in India. These include infrastructural problems, privacy concerns and the power imbalances that improved transparency can unwittingly create. It also examines government attitudes towards open data and related policies and reviews the relationships between open government data, the media and civil society.</p>
<p>The authors argue that the Indian Government’s responsibility should not stop short at just providing information, but also extend to making it available and accessible in a way that facilitates analysis and enhances offline usability – and ultimately makes it accessible to the poorest.</p>
<p>The paper concludes by suggesting technical and policy strategies to develop, promote, implement and maintain a robust open government data policy in India.</p>
<p>Download the <a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/publications/open-government.pdf" class="internal-link" title="Open Government Data">report</a> [PDF, 1.03 MB]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/open-government-data-study'>https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/open-government-data-study</a>
</p>
No publisherpraneshOpen DataFeaturedPublicationsOpenness2015-09-03T08:08:22ZBlog EntryRebuttal of DIT's Misleading Statements on New Internet Rules
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/rebuttal-dit-press-release-intermediaries
<b>The press statement issued on May 11 by the Department of Information Technology (DIT) on the furore over the newly-issued rules on 'intermediary due diligence' is misleading and is, in places, plainly false. We are presenting a point-by-point rebuttal of the DIT's claims.</b>
<p>In its <a class="external-link" href="http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=72066">press release on Wednesday, May 11, 2011</a>, the DIT stated:
<blockquote>The
attention of Government has been drawn to news items in a section of
media on certain aspects of the Rules notified under Section 79
pertaining to liability of intermediaries under the Information
Technology Act, 2000. These items have raised two broad issues. One is
that words used in Rules for objectionable content are broad and could
be interpreted subjectively. Secondly, there is an apprehension that the
Rules enable the Government to regulate content in a highly subjective
and possibly arbitrary manner. <br /></blockquote>
<p>There are actually more issues than merely "subjective interpretation" and "arbitrary governmental regulation".</p>
<ul><li style="list-style-type: disc;">The
Indian Constitution limits how much the government can regulate
citizens’ fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. Any
measure afoul of the constitution is invalid. </li><li style="list-style-type: disc;">Several
portions of the rules are beyond the limited powers that Parliament had
granted the Department of IT to create interpretive rules under the
Information Technology Act. Parliament directed the Government to merely
define what “due diligence” requirements an intermediary would have to
follow in order to claim the qualified protection against liability that
Section 79 of the Information Technology Act provides; these current
rules have gone dangerously far beyond that, by framing rules that
insist that intermediaries, without investigation, has to remove content within 36-hours of receipt of a
complaint, keep records of a users' details and provide them to
law enforcement officials.</li></ul>
<p>The Department of Information Technology (DIT), Ministry of
Communications & IT has clarified that the Intermediaries Guidelines
Rules, 2011 prescribe that due diligence need to be observed by the
Intermediaries to enjoy exemption from liability for hosting any third
party information under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act,
2000. These due diligence practices are the best practices followed
internationally by well-known mega corporations operating on the
Internet. The terms specified in the Rules are in accordance with the
terms used by most of the Intermediaries as part of their existing
practices, policies and terms of service which they have published on
their website.</p>
<ol><li>We are not aware of any country that actually goes to the extent of
deciding what Internet-wide ‘best practices’ are and actually converting
those ‘best practices’ into law by prescribing a universal terms of
service that all Internet services, websites, and products should enforce.</li><li>The Rules require all intermediaries to include the
government-prescribed terms in an agreement, no matter what services
they provide. It is one thing for a company to choose the terms of its
terms of service agreement, and completely another for the government to
dictate those terms of service. As long as the terms of service of an
intermediary are not unlawful or bring up issues of users’ rights (such
as the right to privacy), there is no reason for the government to jump
in and dictate what the terms of service should or should not be.</li><li>The DIT has not offered any proof to back up its assertion that 'most'
intermediaries already have such terms. Google, a ‘mega corporation’
which is an intermediary, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.google.com/accounts/TOS?hl=en">does not have such an overarching policy</a>. Indiatimes, another ‘mega
corporation’ intermediary, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.indiatimes.com/policyterms/1555176.cms">does not either</a>. Just because <a class="external-link" href="http://www.rediff.com/termsofuse.html">a
company like Rediff</a> and <a class="external-link" href="http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/legal/wow_tou.html">
Blizzard's World of Warcraft</a> have some of those terms does not mean a) that they should have all of those terms, nor that b) everyone else should as well.<br /><br />In
attempting to take different terms of service from different Internet
services and products—the very fact of which indicate the differing
needs felt across varying online communities—the Department has put in
place a one-size-fits-all approach. How can this be possible on the Internet, when we wouldn't regulate the post-office and a book publisher under the same rules of liability for, say, defamatory speech.</li><li>There is also a significant difference between the effect of those
terms of service and that of these Rules. An intermediary-framed terms of service
suggest that the intermediary <em>may</em> investigate and boot someone off a service for violation, while the Rules insist that
the intermediary simply has to mandatorily remove content, keep records of users' details and provide them to law enforcement officials,
else be subject to crippling legal liability.</li></ol>
<p>So
to equate the effect of these Rules to merely following ‘existing
practices’ is plainly wrong. An intermediary—like the CIS website—should have the freedom to choose not to have terms of service
agreements. We now don’t.“In case any issue arises concerning the interpretation of the terms
used by the Intermediary, which is not agreed to by the user or affected
person, the same can only be adjudicated by a Court of Law. The
Government or any of its agencies have no power to intervene or even
interpret. DIT has reiterated that there is no intention of the
Government to acquire regulatory jurisdiction over content under these
Rules. It has categorically said that these rules do not provide for any
regulation or control of content by the Government.”</p>
<p>The
Rules are based on the presumption that all complaints (and resultant
mandatory taking down of the content) are correct, and that the
incorrectness of the take-downs can be disputed in court. Why not just
invert that, and presume that all complaints need to be proven first, and the correctness of the complaints (instead of the take-downs) be disputed in court? </p>
<p>Indeed,
the courts have insisted that presumption of validity is the only
constitutional way of dealing with speech. (See, for instance, <em>Karthikeyan R. v. Union
of India</em>, a 2010 Madras High Court judgment.)</p>
<p>Further,
only constitutional courts (namely High Courts and the Supreme Court)
can go into the question of the validity of a law. Other courts have to
apply the law, even if it the judge believes it is constitutionally
invalid. So, most courts will be forced to apply this law of highly
questionable constitutionality until a High Court or the Supreme Court
strikes it down.</p>
<p>What
the Department has in fact done is to explicitly open up the floodgates
for increased liability claims and litigation - which runs exactly
counter to the purpose behind the amendment of Section 79 by Parliament
in 2008.</p>
<blockquote>“The
Government adopted a very transparent process for formulation of the
Rules under the Information Technology Act. The draft Rules were
published on the Department of Information Technology website for
comments and were widely covered by the media. None of the Industry
Associations and other stakeholders objected to the formulation which is
now being cited in some section of media.”<br /></blockquote>
<p>This is a blatant lie.</p>
<p>Civil
society voices, including <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/2011/02/25/intermediary-due-diligence" class="external-link">CIS</a>, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.softwarefreedom.in/index.php?option=com_idoblog&task=viewpost&id=86&Itemid=70">Software Freedom Law Centre</a>, and
individual experts (such as the lawyer and published author <a class="external-link" href="http://www.iltb.net/2011/02/draft-rules-on-intermediary-liability-released-by-the-ministry-of-it/">Apar Gupta</a>)
sent in comments. Companies <a class="external-link" href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704681904576314652996232860.html?mod=WSJINDIA_hps_LEFTTopWhatNews">such as Google</a>, <a class="external-link" href="http://e2enetworks.com/2011/05/13/e2e-networks-response-to-draft-rules-for-intermediary-guidelines/">E2E Networks</a>, and others had apparently
raised concerns as well. The press has published many a cautionary note, including editorials, op-ed and articles in <a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article1487299.ece">the</a> <a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article1515144.ece">Hindu</a>, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?sectionId=6&mod=1&pg=1&valid=true&storyid=5163">the Hoot</a>, Medianama.com, and Kafila.com, well before the new rules were notified. We at CIS even received a 'read notification'
from the email account of the Group Coordinator of the DIT’s Cyber Laws
Division—Dr. Gulshan Rai—on Thursday, March 3, 2011 at 12:04 PM (we had
sent the mail to Dr. Rai on Monday, February 28, 2011). We never
received any acknowledgement, though, not even after we made an express
request for acknowledgement (and an offer to meet them in person to
explain our concerns) on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 in an e-mail sent to Mr.
Prafulla Kumar and Dr. Gulshan Rai of DIT.</p>
<p>The
process can hardly be called 'transparent' when the replies received
from 'industry associations and other stakeholders' have not been made
public by the DIT. Those comments which are public all indicate that
serious concerns were raised as to the constitutionality of the Rules.</p>
<p>The Government has been forward looking to create a conducive
environment for the Internet medium to catapult itself onto a different
plane with the evolution of the Internet. The Government remains fully
committed to freedom of speech and expression and the citizen’s rights
in this regard.</p>
<p><span id="internal-source-marker_0.8528041979429147">The DIT has limited this statement to the rules on intermediary due
diligence, and has not spoken about the controversial new rules that
stifle cybercafes, and restrict users' privacy and freedom to receive
information.<br /></span></p>
<p><span id="internal-source-marker_0.8528041979429147"></span>If
the government is serious about creating a conducive environment for
innovation, privacy and free expression on the Internet, then it wouldn’t be
passing Rules that curb down on them, and it definitely will not be
doing so in such a non-transparent fashion.</p></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/rebuttal-dit-press-release-intermediaries'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/rebuttal-dit-press-release-intermediaries</a>
</p>
No publisherpraneshFreedom of Speech and ExpressionIT ActFeaturedIntermediary Liability2012-07-11T13:18:04ZBlog EntryCritical Point of View: A Wikipedia Reader
https://cis-india.org/research/conferences/conference-blogs/wikipedia-reader
<b>For millions of internet users around the globe, the search for new knowledge begins with Wikipedia. The encyclopedia’s rapid rise, novel organization, and freely offered content have been marveled at and denounced by a host of commentators. Critical Point of View moves beyond unflagging praise, well-worn facts, and questions about its reliability and accuracy, to unveil the complex, messy, and controversial realities of a distributed knowledge platform.</b>
<p>The essays, interviews and artworks brought together in this reader form part of the overarching Critical Point of View research initiative, which began with a conference in Bangalore (January 2010), followed by events in Amsterdam (March 2010) and Leipzig (September 2010). With an emphasis on theoretical reflection, cultural difference and indeed, critique, contributions to this collection ask: What values are embedded in Wikipedia’s software? On what basis are Wikipedia’s claims to neutrality made? How can Wikipedia give voice to those outside the Western tradition of Enlightenment, or even its own administrative hierarchies? <em>Critical Point of View</em> collects original insights on the next generation of wiki-related research, from radical artistic interventions and the significant role of bots to hidden trajectories of encyclopedic knowledge and the politics of agency and exclusion.</p>
<p><strong>Contributors</strong>: Amila Akdag Salah, Nicholas Carr, Shun-ling Chen, Florian Cramer, Morgan Currie, Edgar Enyedy, Andrew Famiglietti, Heather Ford, Mayo Fuster Morell, Cheng Gao, R. Stuart Geiger, Mark Graham, Gautam John, Dror Kamir, Peter B. Kaufman, Scott Kildall, Lawrence Liang, Patrick Lichty, Geert Lovink, Hans Varghese Mathews, Johanna Niesyto, Matheiu O’Neil, Dan O’Sullivan, Joseph Reagle, Andrea Scharnhorst, Alan Shapiro, Christian Stegbauer, Nathaniel Stern, Krzystztof Suchecki, Nathaniel Tkacz, Maja van der Velden</p>
<p><strong>Colophon</strong>: Editors: Geert Lovink and Nathaniel Tkacz. Editorial Assistance: Ivy Roberts and Morgan Currie. Copy-Editing: Cielo Lutino. Design: Katja van Stiphout. Cover Image: Ayumi Higuchi. Priner: Ten Klei, Amsterdam. Publisher: Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam. Supported by: The School for Communication and Design at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (Hogeschool van Amsterdam DMCI), the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) in Bangalore and the Kusuma Trust.</p>
<ul><li>Download the pdf for free <a class="external-link" href="http://www.networkcultures.org/_uploads/%237reader_Wikipedia.pdf">here</a></li><li>To order a hard copy of the reader, send an email: books@networkcultures.org<br /></li></ul>
<p>Geert Lovink and Nathaniel Tkacz (eds), <em>Critical Point of View: A Wikpedia Reader</em>, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2011. ISBN: 978-90-78146-13-1, paperback, 385 pages.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/research/conferences/conference-blogs/wikipedia-reader'>https://cis-india.org/research/conferences/conference-blogs/wikipedia-reader</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaFeaturedCPOV2011-05-13T07:24:16ZBlog EntryDIT's Response to RTI on Website Blocking
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/rti-response-dit-blocking
<b>For the first time in India, we have a list of websites that are blocked by order of the Indian government. This data was received from the Department of Information Technology in response to an RTI that CIS filed. Pranesh Prakash of CIS analyzes the implications of these blocks, as well as the shortcomings of the DIT's response.</b>
<h2>Quick Analysis of DIT's Response to the RTI<br /></h2>
<h3>Blocked websites<br /></h3>
<p>The eleven websites that the DIT acknowledges are blocked in India are:</p>
<ol><li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.zone-h.org">http://www.zone-h.org</a></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://donotdial100.webs.com">http://donotdial100.webs.com</a><br /></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.bloggernews.net/124029">http://www.bloggernews.net/124029</a> [<strong>accessible from Tata DSL, but not from others like Reliance Broadband and BSNL Broadband</strong>]</li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.google.co.in/#h1=en&source=hp&biw=1276&bih=843&=dr+babasaheb+ambedkar+wallpaper&aq=4&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=dr+babas&gs_rfai=&fp=e791fe993fa412ba">http://www.google.co.in/#h1=en&source=hp&biw=1276&bih=843&=dr+babasaheb+ambedkar+wallpaper&aq=4&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=dr+babas&gs_rfai=&fp=e791fe993fa412ba</a></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.cinemahd.net/desktop-enhancements/wallpaper/23945-wallpapers-beautiful-girl-wallpaper.html">http://www.cinemahd.net/desktop-enhancements/wallpaper/23945-wallpapers-beautiful-girl-wallpaper.html</a></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.chakpak.com/find/images/kamasutra-hindi-movie">http://www.chakpak.com/find/images/kamasutra-hindi-movie</a></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.submitlink.khatana.net/2010/09/jennifer-stano-is-engaged-to.html">http://www.submitlink.khatana.net/2010/09/jennifer-stano-is-engaged-to.html</a></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.result.khatana.net/2010/11/im-no-panty-girl-yana-gupta-wardrobe.html">http://www.result.khatana.net/2010/11/im-no-panty-girl-yana-gupta-wardrobe.html</a></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/l-Hate-Ambedkar/172025102828076">http://www.facebook.com/pages/l-Hate-Ambedkar/172025102828076</a></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.indybay.org">http://www.indybay.org</a></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://arizona.indymedia.org">http://arizona.indymedia.org</a></li></ol>
<p> </p>
<p>Of the eleven blocked websites, one was still accessible on a Tata Communications DSL connection. Two of the blocked websites are grassroots news organizations connected to the Independent Media Centre: IndyBay (San Francisco Bay Area IMC) and the Arizona Indymedia website. The Bloggernews.net page that is on the blocked list is in fact an article by N. Vijayashankar (Naavi) from March 12, 2010 titled "Is E2 labs right in getting zone-h.org blocked?", criticising the judicial blocking of Zone-H.org by E2 Labs (with E2 Labs being represented by lawyer Pawan Duggal). The Zone-H.org case is still going through the judicial motions in the District Court of Delhi, but E2 Labs managed to get an <a class="external-link" href="http://www.naavi.org/cl_editorial_10/e2labs_zoneh_org.pdf"><em>ex parte</em> (i.e., without Zone-H being heard) interim order from the judge</a> asking Designated Officer (Mr. Gulshan Rai of DIT) to block access to Zone-H.org.</p>
<p>As has happened in the past, the government (or the court) <a class="external-link" href="http://support.webs.com/webs/topics/india_problems_seeing_your_site_read_this_first">accidentally ordered the blocking of all of website host webs.com</a>, instead of blocking only http://donotdial100.webs.com (which subdomain apparently hosted <a class="external-link" href="http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_police-still-to-shut-down-fake-account-maligning-force_1419951">'defamatory' and 'abusive' information about mafia links within the Maharashtra police and political circles</a>).</p>
<p>It is interesting to note that for most of the websites on most ISPs one gets a 'request timed out' error
while trying to access the blocked websites, and not a sign saying:
"site blocked for XYZ reason on request dated DD-MM-YYYY received from the DIT". On Reliance broadband connections, for some of the above websites an error message appears, which states: "This site has been blocked as per instructions from Department of Telecom".</p>
<h3>Judicial blocking<br /></h3>
<p>As per the response of the government, all eleven seem to have been blocked on orders received from the judiciary. While they don't state this directly, this is the conclusion one is led to since the Department admits to blocking eleven websites and also notes that there have been eleven requests for blocking from the judiciary. Normally the judiciary is often thought of as a check on the executive's penchant for banning (seen especially in the recent book banning cases in Maharashtra, for instance, where the Bombay High Court has overturned most of the government's banning orders). However, in these cases the ill-informed lower judiciary seem to be manipulated by lawyers to suppress freedom of speech and expression, even going to the extent of blocking grassroots activist news organizations like the Independent Media Centre.</p>
<h3>Websites not blocked by DIT<br /></h3>
<p>The DIT also notes that the blocks on Typepad.com was not authorized by it (nor, according to the RTI response received by Nikhil Pahwa of Medianama was the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.medianama.com/2011/04/223-indiablocks-indias-it-depts-response-to-our-rti-request-our-stand/">Mobango.com block authorised by the DIT</a>). Typepad.com, Mobango.com, and Clickatell.com don't seem to be blocked currently. However, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.medianama.com/2011/03/223-indian-government-blocks-typepad-mobango-clickatell/">as was reported by Medianama</a>, for a while when they were being blocked, some sites and ISPs (such as Typepad.com on Bharti Airtel DSL) showed a message stating that the website was blocked on request from the Department of Telecom, which we don't believe has the authority to order blocking of websites. While we still await a response from the Department of Telecom to the RTI we filed with them on this topic, in a letter to the Hindu, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1574444.ece">the Department of Telecom has clarified</a> that it did not order any block on Typepad.com or any of the other websites. This leaves us unsure as to who ordered these blocks. Further, it points out a lacuna in our information policy that ISPs can <em>suo motu</em> block websites without justifications (such as violation of terms of use), proper notice to customers, or any kind of repercussions for wrongful blocking.</p>
<h3>Insufficient information on Committee for Examination of Requests</h3>
<p>All requests for websites blocking (except those directly from the judiciary) must be vetted by the Committee for Examination of Requests (CER) under Rule 8(4) of the Rules under s.69A of the IT Act. Given that the DIT admits that the Designated Officer (who carries out the blocking) has received 21 requests to date, there should be at least 21 recommendations of the CER. However, the DIT has not provided us with the details of those 21 requests and the 21 recommendations. We are filing another RTI to uncover this information.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Text of the DIT's Response<br /></h2>
<p>Government of India <br />Ministry of Communications & Information Technology <br />Department of Information Technology <br />Electronics Niketan, 6 CGO Complex, <br />New Delhi-110003<br /> <br />No : 14(3)/2011-ESD<br /><br />Shri Pranesh Prakash <br />Centre for Internet and Society <br />194, 2-C Cross, <br />Domulur Stage II, <br />Bangalore- 560071.<br /><br />Subject: Request for information under RTI Act,<br /><br />Sir,<br />Reference your request dated 28lh February 2011 on the above subject.<br />The point wise information as received from the custodian of Information is enclosed for your reference and records.<br /><br />sd/-<br />(A.K.Kaushik) <br />Additional Director & CPIO <br />Tel: 011-24364803<br /><br /><br />Subject : RTI on website blocking requested by Shri Pranesh Prakash</p>
<blockquote>(i) Did the Department order Airtel to block TypePad under S.69A of the Information Technology Act ("IT Act"), 2000 read with the Information Technology (Procedures and Safeguards for Blocking Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009 ("Rules") or any other law for the time being in force? If so, please provide a copy of such order or orders. If not, what action, if at all, has been taken by the Department against Airtel for blocking of websites in contravention of S.69A of the IT Act?<br /></blockquote>
<p><strong>Reply </strong>- This Department did not order Airtel to block the said site.<br /><br /></p>
<blockquote>(ii) Has the Department ever ordered a block under s.69A of the IT Act? If so, what was the information that was ordered to be blocked?<br /></blockquote>
<p><strong>Reply</strong> - The Department has issued directions for blocking under section 69A for the following websites:<br />(a) www.zone-h.org.<br />(b) http://donotdial100.webs.com (IP 216.52.115.50)<br />(c) www.bloggernews.net/124029<br />(d) http://www.google.co.in/#h 1 =en&source=hp& biw=1276&bih=843&=dr+babasaheb+ambedkar+ wallpaper&aq=4&aqi=g10&aql =&oq=dr+ babas& gs_rfai=&fp=e791 fe993fa412ba<br />(e) http://www.cinemahd.net/desktop-enhancements/wallpaper/23945- wallpapers-beautiful-girl-wallpaper.html<br />(f) http://www.chakpak.com/find/images/ kamasutra-hindi-movie<br />(g) http://www.submitlink.khatana.net/2010/09/jennifer-stano-is-engaged- to.html<br />(h) http://www.result.khatana.net/2010/11/im-no-panty-girl-yana-gupta- wardrobe.html.<br />(i) http://www.facebook.com/pages/l-Hate-Ambedkar/172025102828076<br />(j) www.indybay.org<br />(k) www.arizona.indymedia.org<br /><br /></p>
<blockquote>(iii) How many requests for blocking of information has the Designated Officer received, and how many of those requests have been accepted and how many rejected? How many of those requests were for emergency blocking under Rule 9 of the Rules?<br /></blockquote>
<p><strong>Reply</strong> - Designated Officer received 21 request for blocking of information. 11 websites have been blocked on the basis of orders received from court of law. One request has been rejected. For other requests, additional input/information has been sought from the Nodal Officer.<br /><br />No request for emergency blocking under rule 9 of the Rules have been received.<br /><br /></p>
<blockquote>(iv) Please provide use the present composition of the Committee for Examination of Requests constituted under Rule 7 of the Rules.<br /></blockquote>
<p><strong>Reply</strong> - The present composition of the Committee is :<br />(a) Designated Officer (Group Coordinator - Cyber Law)<br />(b) Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs<br />(c) Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting<br />(d) Additional Secretary and Ministry of Law & Justice<br />(e) Senior Director, Indian Computer Emergency Response Team<br /><br /></p>
<blockquote>(v) Please provide us the dates and copies of the minutes of all meetings held by the Committee for Examination of Requests under Rule 8(4) of the Rules, and copies of their recommendations.<br /></blockquote>
<p><strong>Reply</strong> - The Committee had met on 24-08-2010 with respect to request for blocking of website www.betfair.com.<br /><br /></p>
<blockquote>(vi) Please provide us the present composition of the Review Committee constituted under rule 419A of the Indian Telegraph Rules, 1951.<br />(vii) Please provide us the dates and copies of the minutes of all meetings held by the Review Committee under Rule 14 of the Rules, and copies of all orders issued by the Review Committee.<br /></blockquote>
<p><strong>Reply</strong> - This Department do not have details for above. The said information may be available with Department of Telecommunications.<br /><br /></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/rti-response-dit-blocking'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/rti-response-dit-blocking</a>
</p>
No publisherpraneshIT ActFeaturedInternet GovernanceCensorship2011-08-02T07:13:47ZBlog Entry'Privacy Matters', Ahmedabad: Conference Report
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy/privacy-matters-report-from-ahmedabad
<b>On 26 March 2011, civil society, lawyers, judges, students and NGO’s, gathered together at the Ahmedabad Management Association to take part in 'Privacy Matters' – a public conference organised by Privacy India in partnership with IDRC and Research Foundation for Governance in India (RFGI) — to discuss the challenges of privacy in India, with an emphasis on national security and privacy. The conference was opened by Prashant Iyengar, head researcher at Privacy India and Kanan Drhu, director of RFGI. Mr. Iyengar explained Privacy India’s mandate to raise awareness of privacy, spark civil action, and promote democratic dialogue around privacy challenges and violations in India. RFGI is a think tank established in 2009 which aims to research, promote, and implement various reforms to improve the legal and political process in Gujarat and across India. ‘Privacy Matters – Ahmedabad’ is the third conference out of the eight that Privacy India will be hosting across India. The next conference will take place in Hyderabad on 9 April 2011. It will focus on human rights and privacy.</b>
<h2>The keynote speech, delivered by Usha Ramanathan, focused on links not often made between privacy and social phenomenon.<br /></h2>
<p></p>
<p align="left"><img class="image-left" src="../it-act/usha.jpg/image_preview" alt="Usha Ramanathan " />Ms. Usha Ramanathan opened the conference by examining the links not often made between privacy and personal security, between databases and national security, and the centrality of dislodging privacy in projects of social control. In her presentation she spoke about the inverse relationship between national and personal security, making the point that an important part of privacy is the ability of an individual to secure their own person. Today, because national security follows a policy of ubiquitous surveillance, it is almost impossible for an individual to secure their person from the state. Ms. Ramanathan also traced the beginnings of ubiquitous surveillance to the increasing global fear of terrorism, and the national break down of the criminal justice system in India. Instead of looking to the roots of terrorism and the roots of failure in the criminal justice system, the Indian State has responded to both these factors by superimposing a system of surveillance on top of the existing rule. Consequently, the state has become pan-optical — closely following the movement of its entire population. The state has been able to achieve this level of surveillance through technology, which it has used to create identifiers for its population. The use of technology by the state mediates a link between corporate interest and state interest. Thus, by facilitating the easy and ubiquitous creation of identifiers and surveillance, technology is changing the idea and the nature of privacy. For example, it is now important that a privacy law allows for individuals to protect and secure their identity, something that every individual has and every individual controls, while regulating the creation and external use of identifiers — something that is used by another (not you) to distinguish a person from the rest of the population. </p>
<h3>Questions to Consider</h3>
<ul><li>How can privacy legislation work to positively regulate the use of technology by the government, so that invasion of privacy does not consequently become state policy? </li></ul>
<ul><li>How can privacy legislation distinguish between and work to protect an identity while regulating the creation and use of personal information as identifiers?</li></ul>
<h2>Session I of the Conference featured a Judicial Perspective of Privacy and a Presentation on the Connections between Privacy and the Federal Income Tax Regime in India.</h2>
<h3>Privacy and the Constitution</h3>
<img class="image-right" src="../it-act/judge.jpg/image_preview" alt="Justice Bhatt" />
<p><strong> J N Bhatt</strong>, the former Chief Justice of Gujarat and Bihar, and currently the head of the Gujarat State Law Commission, spoke about privacy as a fundamental right that has been written into articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India. Important points from his presentation include:</p>
<ul><li>
<p> As privacy is already a recognized fundamental right, the question at hand is not if there is a right to privacy, but instead how can the right to privacy be best proliferated. </p>
</li></ul>
<ul><li>
<p>Within the question of how a privacy can best be proliferated, is a question about rights and duties. Wherever there is a right to privacy there is also a corresponding duty to privacy — as rights and duties are interdependent.</p>
</li></ul>
<ul><li>
<p>Though privacy has been recognized as a fundamental right in India, when looking at the actual assertion of the right, it is important to be aware of the cultural realities of India. India is a country with 39 per cent of her population living below the poverty line, with an even lower literacy rate, and there is a direct connection between the assertion of civil liberties, an individual’s civic sense, and education.</p>
</li></ul>
<ul><li>
<p>When looking at how to best proliferate the right to privacy, governance and common law, a methodology to reach the poorest of the poor should be laid out first.</p>
</li></ul>
<h3>Questions to Consider</h3>
<ul><li>
<p>What is the best way to proliferate the right to privacy ?</p>
</li></ul>
<ul><li>
<p>What legal structures need to be in place to ensure that the poor can assert their right to privacy?</p>
</li><li>
<p>What social structures need to be in place to ensure that the poor can assert their right to privacy?</p>
</li></ul>
<h3><img class="image-left" src="../it-act/profdrhu.jpg/image_preview" alt="Prof. Drhu" /> Privacy and the Indian Tax Regime<br /></h3>
<p><strong>Professor Amal Dhru</strong>, visiting professor from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and a practicing Chartered Accountant spoke on the connections between privacy and the federal income tax regime in India. In his presentation he explained how the information collected by the federal income tax regime in India can be both useful in holding a citizen accountable, and invasive of one’s personal privacy if mis-used. Important points from his presentation include:</p>
<ul><li>The Indian tax regime highlights the tension between public interest as tax evasion is considered an exception to the right to privacy as it is a matter of public interest.</li></ul>
<ul><li> There is a lack of confidence in the existing banking and tax system in India. For example in the business sector, Indian investors have deposited over 700 billion dollars abroad as they are given complete privacy and security over their money. </li></ul>
<ul><li>Though there is a lack of confidence in the current banking and tax system, a tighter law is not necessarily the solution. For example, studies have found that tighter tax regimes lead to greater evasion, while looser tax regimes have higher compliance rates.</li></ul>
<ul><li>On April 1, 2011 the new tax codes for India will be implemented. The reform will give enormous power to tax offices, and as the tax authorities will become equipped to do taxes smarter – this will come at a cost to citizen’s privacy. </li></ul>
<h3>Questions to Consider</h3>
<ul><li> Just as a tighter tax law leads to a higher percentage of tax evasion, will a tight privacy law simply lead to greater numbers of privacy violations?</li></ul>
<ul><li>What creates public confidence in a law?</li></ul>
<ul><li>Should a privacy legislation be responsible for defining the public good?</li></ul>
<ul><li>Should privacy protection of tax-related information be incorporated into a privacy legislation or contained only in tax law?</li></ul>
<ul><li>To what extent should tax authorities be allowed to investigate potential tax evasion i.e., one’s computer, house or e-mail? </li></ul>
<ul><li>How does one balance the private vs. the public good? </li></ul>
<h2> Session II of the Conference focused on National Security and Privacy, and Cultural Conceptions of Privacy <br /></h2>
<h3>National Security and Privacy<img class="image-right" src="../it-act/mathew.jpg/image_preview" alt="Mr. Thomas " /></h3>
<p style="text-align: left;">In the second session on Privacy and National Security, Colonel Mathew Thomas spoke on privacy and national security. Colonel Thomas is a management consultant and activity leader for development centers and has held top positions in the Indian Army, and the Defence Research and Development Organisation, where he headed the missile manufacturing facility. Sharing his personal experiences in the army he explained the connection between privacy and national security. Important points from his presentation include: </p>
<ul><li> National Security is often not an internal threat, but instead an external threat. </li></ul>
<ul><li>There is a connection between the increase in surveillance and liberalization of Government. </li></ul>
<ul><li>More surveillance does not bring more security. </li></ul>
<ul><li>Foreign software poses as a threat to national security.</li></ul>
<ul><li>Greater security is gained through intelligent use and analysis of data. </li></ul>
<ul><li>A strong national security plan should not rely solely on surveillance of its citizens. Instead national security should be brought about through strong economic policies, non-reliance on foreign software, neutrality in foreign policy, fair trade policies, rural development and prevention of migration to cities, and having a politically honest and accountable governance.</li></ul>
<h3>Questions to Consider</h3>
<ul><li>Is it effective for privacy to be compromised in the name of anti- terror laws?</li><li> Can the development and distribution of indigenous software protect national privacy?</li><li> How can strong economic policies indirectly protect an individual's privacy?</li><li> How can a strong foreign policy protect an Indian citizen's privacy when it is stored or sent abroad?</li></ul>
<h3> <img class="image-left" src="../it-act/gagan.jpg/image_preview" alt="Gagan Sethi" />Privacy as a Cultural Construct<br /></h3>
<p>Gagan Sethi from the Centre for Social Justice, Ahmedabad shared his opinion on privacy. Important points from his presentation include:</p>
<ul><li>
<p>Privacy is a cultural construct that changes with context, perspective, and time.</p>
</li><li>
<p>When considering a privacy policy it is important to create a policy that does not strictly define what privacy is and what it is not, but instead create a policy that defines and promotes a common respect for human dignity.</p>
</li></ul>
<h3>Questions to Consider</h3>
<ul><li> If a privacy policy is developed to promote a common respect for human dignity – will it be effective?</li></ul>
<ul><li>
<p>Can you develop a policy that has a loose definition and mandate, but has strong legal teeth?</p>
</li></ul>
<h2>Session III of the Conference focused on Minority Identities and Privacy, Prisoner Rights, and Cyber Security.</h2>
<h3>Privacy and Minority Identities<img class="image-right" src="../it-act/copy_of_bobby.jpg/image_preview" alt="Bobby Kuhnu " /><br /></h3>
<p><strong>Bobby Kuhnu</strong>, a lawyer and activist, presented in the third session on Privacy, Minority Identities, and Security. In his talk Mr. Kuhnu through the use of three examples examined the ideological underpinnings of the discourse on privacy and its bearings on socially marginalized identities in the context of the Indian State and the constitutional right to privacy. Important points from his presentation include:</p>
<ul><li>
<p>In India, names can be sensitive and personal information like one’s religion, family, caste, and background can all be known through a name.</p>
</li><li>
<p>Because of the sensitivity of a person’s name, many people do not feel safe or comfortable in their own identity.</p>
</li><li>
<p>Reservation lists and public postings of information, can and have been used to discriminate and violate another’s privacy.</p>
</li></ul>
<h3>Questions to Consider</h3>
<ul><li>
<p>Should a privacy legislation requirement throughout institutions and government bodies that names should not be publicly displayed to the point of identification?</p>
</li><li>
<p>What is the most effective way of legally protecting an individual from discrimination based on their name?</p>
</li></ul>
<h3>Perspectives of Privacy <br /></h3>
<p><img class="image-left" src="../it-act/interns.jpg/image_preview" alt="Interns " />In the last portion of the day, Yash Sampat and Aditya Yagnik spoke on the origins of privacy and privacy in the cyber world. Vimmi Surti spoke on prisoner's rights and privacy and Ramswaroop Chaudhary presented on minority identities in South Asia and privacy. Important points from their presentation include:</p>
<ul><li>
<p> Internet has led to an increase in privacy violations.</p>
</li><li>
<p>The result of privacy infringements is often the deprivation of individuals from safe access to services availed to them.</p>
</li><li>
<p>When looking at privacy as the protection of human dignity, prisoner’s rights are violated through overcrowding in prisons, poor health, and poor sanitation.</p>
</li></ul>
<h3>Questions to Consider</h3>
<ul><li>
<p> Are there legal mechanisms that can be put in place to ensure the least amount of deprivation to services when an individual’s privacy is invaded?</p>
</li></ul>
<ul><li>
<p> To what extent should prisoners be availed the right to privacy?</p>
</li></ul>
<h2>The concluding session was a time for discussion and opinion sharing<img class="image-right" src="../it-act/kananandjudge.jpg/image_preview" alt="Kanan and the Judge " /></h2>
<p>From the closing session, and the above sessions many themes and questions pertaining to privacy came out that will need to be addressed when considering the way forward for a privacy legislation including:</p>
<ul><li>Regulation of ubiquitous surveillance in the name of national security</li><li>Regulation over public display of names and personal information</li><li>The need to distinguish between identity and identifier. </li><li>The need to protect an individual's identity while regulating the production and use of identifiers.</li><li>Privacy rights and prisoners: what does the right to privacy mean to a prisoner, i.e., clean facilities and health care. </li><li>Can the right to privacy be a platform for individuals to claim sanitary/safe working and living conditions. </li><li>Recognize the changing nature of privacy rights in a technological society.</li><li>Privacy implications of biometric usage.</li><li>Creation of a definition of when privacy rights will supersede identification needs.</li><li>How can government institutions, like the tax department, incorporate and protect the right to privacy with the collection of large amounts of data for more efficient services. </li><li>Privacy and the family</li></ul>
<strong>
<div><strong><br /></strong></div>
</strong>
<div class="pullquote"><strong>
Download the report and agenda <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy-conference-ahmedabad.pdf" class="internal-link" title="Privacy Conference in Ahmedabad PDF">here</a> [pdf - 452kb]</strong></div>
<p class="callout"><strong>Also see Matthew's <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy-ahmedabad-conference-presentation.pptx" class="internal-link" title="Privacy Conference in Ahmedabad Powerpoint Presentation">presentation</a> [powerpoint file 116kb]</strong></p>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy/privacy-matters-report-from-ahmedabad'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy/privacy-matters-report-from-ahmedabad</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaFeaturedPrivacy2011-04-04T04:45:49ZBlog EntryIndia's untapped potential: Are a billion people losing out because of spectrum?
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/untapped-potential
<b>As one of the world’s fastest growing economies and with over 65% of its billion-plus population under 35, India has huge potential. But according to Shyam Ponappa of the Centre for Internet & Society, its spectrum management – the electromagnetic waves that are used from home appliances like microwaves and remote controls, to radios, cell phones, and of course, the internet – could be a huge barrier to the country’s economic and social development.</b>
<p>Until the global economic downturn that began about two years ago, the economic model for spectrum distribution in India and many developing countries was based on the free market. But Ponappa demonstrates in a <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/node/11864/">new report </a>for APC that spectrum is worth treating as a public utility the way we do roads, electricity and other basic infrastructure, which would allow for people in rural areas to access spectrum-dependant services like mobile phones and wifi and increase quality of services for all.</p>
<p>Currently in India, as in most other countries, spectrum is being treated as a property, where “chunks” of spectrum are sold to the mobile phone and telecommunications operators with the highest bid. Commonly there are 3 – 4 operators in a developed country; however, in India there are up to sixteen. The extreme competition has resulted in the Indian bidders paying outrageous fees that they are never able to recuperate. So while the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/glossary/term/353">government</a> makes a profit on the sale, this profit comes at a societal cost.</p>
<p>Ponappa proposes pooling spectrum and to have a set of network providers, who in turn serve operators for retail users. This effectively opens up the spectrum and could make costs ten or fifteen times cheaper than they are now.</p>
<p>“It is appropriate to push the concept of open spectrum in developed markets who underwent their development phase some 60 – 100 years ago and put in place basic infrastructure systems. But in countries like India and the Asian sub-continent, it does not make sense to do this because we are not at the same stage of economic development,” Ponappa told APCNews.</p>
<p>“When markets are well structured and organised,” he continues, “[<a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/glossary/term/353">government</a> control] can be less effective and efficient for society as a whole, compared with open competition. However developing economies don’t have the integrated systems in place that advanced economies do. India does not have an adequately developed network of copper, optical <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/glossary/term/293">fibre</a> or microwaves covering most of its population. And we are at a stage of development at which infrastructure is a fundamental determinant of productivity, as well as of a reasonable quality of life.”</p>
<p>Ponappa argues that in India’s case it would be advisable for governments to work with other stakeholders – corporations, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/glossary/term/354">state</a>-owned agencies, and civil society – on a collaborative solution. “It would be much more conducive to a sound economy to have either the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/glossary/term/353">government</a> step in and open up the commercial spectrum, or to have two to three main operators (possibly subsidised, but not necessarily) as we do with the provision of utilities,” he says. Yet, the free market mentality continues to reign, and a surfeit of operators is trying to make a profit in the telecommunications <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/taxonomy/term/325">wireless</a> sector.</p>
<h3>Everybody wants a piece of the pie</h3>
<p>In India, every operator is assigned a sliver of spectrum for their exclusive use and the rest is assigned to the government, the public sector and defence.</p>
<p>The result is high-cost infrastructure for operators (setting up networks with multiple sets of more advanced equipment because of the limited spectrum, with the capital constraints resulting in less extensive networks in rural areas) as well as for users (who have to pay for all this equipment).</p>
<p>“Too many operators make for increased capital costs for each operator, and cumulatively for all operators,” Ponappa explains.</p>
<p>And these higher costs are increasingly difficult to recover from consumer-generated revenue, as India undergoes huge price wars. Many operators may eventually go bankrupt. While no consumers ever complain about low costs –and India has some of the world’s lowest mobile rates– they will complain about poor quality and unreliable service. Consequently, consumers may not have to pay much to use mobile services, but they may not always be able to make or receive calls when they need to, and do not have access to broadband.</p>
<p>While most countries have moved on to 3G networks (which has more capacity for a given spectrum band than 2G, meaning better call quality) as many as four of India’s sixteen operators have not even developed their 2G networks. Making the switch to 3G seems like a good idea, but there are substantial costs associated with deploying these more advanced techniques to both operators (for network upgrades) and for end users (in terms of new handsets).</p>
<p>Too much competition in this case has made operators inefficient.</p>
<h3>Spectrum as a national common good</h3>
<p>If spectrum were treated as if it were a public utility, posits Ponappa, each operator would have access to a bigger chunk of spectrum, and the traffic-handling capacity of each would increase at a lower cost.</p>
<p>“With the current model the capacity of networks is suffering because networks cannot afford to expand or make technical improvements without economic losses. Other infrastructure services such as electricity and water supply are managed by utility companies, which are typically monopolies for a product-segment, or duopolies for purposes of competition. So why not treat spectrum the same way?” suggests Ponappa.</p>
<p>Ponappa suggests treating networks, and spectrum as a part of networks, as we would an oil pipeline, where everyone accesses the same one, and pays a fee for its use.</p>
<p>This would bring more people onto the network and increase revenues, since operating costs would be shared. The more revenue it can generate, the more efficient operators will be, using the same high-capacity circuits. The more revenue the main operators have, the more they could invest in up-to-date technology to extend their networks and provide a better service to clients. The better the technology, the more people could access the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/taxonomy/term/258">internet</a> and other now vital sources of information, as well as focus on broadband and infrastructure to the country’s isolated rural areas, which today have rudimentary communications infrastructure.</p>
<h3>India’s rural populations, the lost resource</h3>
<p>As a predominantly rural country, lack of basic IT infrastructure means that the largest segment of India’s population has no <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/taxonomy/term/300">access to information </a>and communications technologies.</p>
<p>Ponappa grew up on a farm in a rural area some 200 km from Bangalore where even fixed line phone networks were unreliable. “We have multiple telephone lines because we never know which one will work,” he says.</p>
<p>Given India’s massive rural population, this means that there are hundreds of millions of people that are unable to access the internet. Services like quality distance education are not even an option if basic infrastructure such as fixed telephone lines is not in place and the country itself is losing out on the incalculable potential of this untapped human resource.</p>
<p>Download the report <a href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/publications/india-untapped-potential" class="internal-link">here</a> [pdf - 280 kb]</p>
<p>See the report in the APC <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/pubs/research/open-spectrum-development-india-case-study">website</a></p>
<p><i>This article was written as part of the APC’s project work on </i><a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/node/10445/"><i>Spectrum for development</i></a><i>, an initiative that aims to provide an understanding of spectrum regulation by examining the situation in Africa, Asia and Latin America.</i></p>
<p>Photo by <a class="external-link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwanja/3170290086/">kiwanja</a>. Used with permission under Creative Content licensing.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/untapped-potential'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/untapped-potential</a>
</p>
No publisherShyam PonappaTelecomFeatured2012-12-14T10:31:43ZBlog EntryGoogle Policy Fellowship Program: Asia Chapter
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/google-policy-fellowship
<b>For the ardent followers of free and open Internet and for those who love to debate on technology, media law and Internet-related policy issues, there is some good news. The Centre for Internet and Society, India is conducting a Google Policy Fellowship program this summer!</b>
<p>Offered for the first time in Asia Pacific, the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.google.com/policyfellowship/">Google Policy Fellowship</a> offers successful applicants the opportunity to develop research and debate on issues relating to freedom of expression for a minimum of ten weeks from June to August 2011. The applicants will be selected in Australia, India and Hong Kong respectively.</p>
<p>The Centre for Internet and Society will select the India Fellow, and is accepting applications for the position before March 27, 2011. Google is providing a USD 7,500 stipend to the India Fellow, who will be selected by April 18, 2011. </p>
<p>To apply, please send to <a href="mailto:google.fellowship@cis-india.org">google.fellowship@cis-india.org</a> the following materials:</p>
<ul><li>Statement of Purpose: A brief write-up outlining about your interest and qualifications for the programme including the relevant academic, professional and extracurricular experiences. As part of the write-up, also explain on what you hope to gain from participation in the programme and what research work concerning free expression online you would like to further through this programme. (About 1200 words max).</li><li>Resume</li><li>Three references</li></ul>
<p>More information about the focus of the work that the Google Policy Fellow will take on is described below<a href="#1">1</a>. More information about the Google Policy Fellowship program is available in the FAQ<a href="#2">2</a>.</p>
<p class="discreet"><a name="1"></a></p>
<h2><a name="1">Research Agenda Outline</a></h2>
<p>The research proposals, and the fellowship itself, are to be anchored in the reality of the growing threat to civil liberties in cyberspace, with the consequent curbs on free expression that arise. The aim of the research is to chart out a comprehensive map of the legal and policy frameworks relating to free expression within the Asia-Pacific region and also examine people’s attitudes and ground-level movements relating to the same. This second component will necessarily involve some amount of empirical research: the fellows across different regions (for 2011, there will be fellows from India, Australia and Hong Kong) will be expected to use a survey on similar lines, so that the results could be adequately contrasted.</p>
<p>The research would involve but not necessarily be limited to the following areas:</p>
<h3><span class="Apple-style-span">Understanding Dissent</span></h3>
<p>This component would involve looking at how dissent is negotiated in the region by the legal system and the ways in which governments seek to stifle and control online dissent. Specific points of interrogation would include:</p>
<ol><li>The extent to which the constitution and other laws in the region protect freedom of expression and the extent to which they are enforced.</li><li>Judicial decisions relating to free expression, censorship and dissent. Have they examined how speech and other activities on the Internet should be afforded free speech protection?</li><li>The kind of material deemed objectionable and subject to censorship and/or penalization.</li><li>The kind of penalties placed on writers, commentators and bloggers for posting objectionable materials on the Internet.</li><li>Understanding the economic environment in which free expression operates: chains of media ownership, state restrictions on the means of journalistic production and distribution, and the levels of state control through allocation of advertising or subsidies would be part of this question.</li><li>Further, what are the laws relating to encryption and telecom security, as well as to intermediary liability, and how do they affect free expression?</li></ol>
<h3><span class="Apple-style-span">Understanding Free Expression</span></h3>
<p>To be examined here is the question of how freedom of expression is perceived by people. What is the extent to which people believe the right is available to them — as balanced by conceivably conflicting rights such as privacy?</p>
<ol><li>One part of proceeding on this would be to track a set of activist bloggers, gauging their take on various issues.</li><li>Another part would include tracking public opinion through comments pages on articles relating to free speech issues; taking a survey or coordinating focus group research. However, this is by no means the most reliable way to gauge the same and is, in particular, one area that will require an appropriate methodology to be developed by the fellows in consultation with the partner organizations.</li></ol>
<p>Both these components are essential in being able to proceed with the third aspect, mentioned below.</p>
<h3><span class="Apple-style-span">Understanding and Facilitating Movements</span></h3>
<p>This final aspect will involve looking at how free expression advocates come together, or fail to do so.</p>
<ol><li>Is there a defined activist community in the region?</li><li>If not, what are the possible reasons behind failure of collaboration or organization? Have there been attempts towards the same?</li></ol>
<h2><span class="Apple-style-span"><a name="2">Frequently Asked Questions</a></span></h2>
<p><strong>What is the Google Policy Fellowship program?</strong></p>
<p>The Google Policy Fellowship program offers students interested in Internet and technology related policy issues with an opportunity to spend their summer working on these issues at the Centre for Internet and Society at Bangalore. Students will work for a period of ten weeks starting from June 2011. The research agenda for the program is based on legal and policy frameworks in the region connected to the ground-level perception of free expression.<br /><strong>Applications for the Fellowship should carry these:</strong></p>
<ul><li>Statement of Purpose: A brief write-up outlining about your interest and qualifications for the programme including the relevant academic, professional and extracurricular experiences. As part of the write-up, also explain on what you hope to gain from participation in the programme and what research work concerning free expression online you would like to further through this programme. (About 1200 words max).</li><li>Resume</li><li>Three references</li></ul>
<p><strong>Important Dates<br /></strong>What is the program timeline?</p>
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td> March 27, 2011:</td>
<td>
<p>Student application deadline; applications must be received by midnight 00:00 GMT. </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>April 18, 2011:</td>
<td>
<p> Student applicants are notified of the status of their applications.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> June 2011:</td>
<td>
<p> Students begin their fellowship with the host organization (start date to be determined by students and the host organization); Google issues initial student stipends. </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> July 2011:</td>
<td>
<p> Mid-term evaluations; Google issues mid-term stipends.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>August 2011:</td>
<td>
<p> Final evaluations; Google issues final stipends.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h3>Eligibility<span class="Apple-style-span">I am an International student can I apply and participate in the program?</span></h3>
<div>
<div><strong>Are there any age restrictions on participating?</strong></div>
</div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">Yes. You must be 18 years of age or older by 1 January 2011 to be eligible to participate in Google Policy Fellowship program in 2011.</span></p>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong>Are there citizenship requirements for the Fellowship?</strong></span></div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">For the time being, we are only accepting students eligible to work in India (e.g. Indian citizens, permanent residents of India, and individuals presently holding an Indian student visa. Google cannot provide guidance or assistance on obtaining the necessary documentation to meet the criteria.</span></p>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong>Who is eligible to participate as a student in Google Policy Fellowship program?</strong></span></div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">In order to participate in the program, you must be a student. Google defines a student as an individual enrolled in or accepted into an accredited institution including (but not necessarily limited to) colleges, universities, masters programs, PhD programs and undergraduate programs. Eligibility is based on enrollment in an accredited university by 1 January 2011.</span></p>
<div>
<div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong>I am an International student can I apply and participate in the program?</strong></span></div>
</div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">In order to participate in the program, you must be a student (see Google's definition of a student above). You must also be eligible to work in India (see section on citizen requirements for fellowship above). Google cannot provide guidance or assistance on obtaining the necessary documentation to meet this criterion.</span></p>
<div><strong>I have been accepted into an accredited post-secondary school program, but have not yet begun attending. Can I still take part in the program?</strong></div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">As long as you are enrolled in a college or university program as of 1 January 2011, you are eligible to participate in the program.</span></p>
<div><strong>I graduate in the middle of the program. Can I still participate?</strong></div>
</div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">As long as you are enrolled in a college or university program as of 1 January 2011, you are eligible to participate in the program.</span></p>
<div>
<div>
<h3>Payments, Forms, and Other Administrative Stuff</h3>
<div>
<div>How do payments work*?</div>
</div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span">Google will provide a stipend of USD 7,500 equivalent to each Fellow for the summer.</span></div>
<div>
<ul><li>Accepted students in good standing with their host organization will receive a USD 2,500 stipend payable shortly after they begin the Fellowship in June 2011.</li><li>Students who receive passing mid-term evaluations by their host organization will receive a USD 1,500 stipend shortly after the mid-term evaluation in July 2011.</li><li>Students who receive passing final evaluations by their host organization and who have submitted their final program evaluations will receive a USD 3,500 stipend shortly after final evaluations in August 2011.</li></ul>
<span class="Apple-style-span"><em>Please note: Payments will be made by electronic bank transfer, and are contingent upon satisfactory evaluations by the host organization, completion of all required enrollment and other forms. Fellows are responsible for payment of any taxes associated with their receipt of the Fellowship stipend.</em></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span">*<em>While the three step payment structure given here corresponds to the one in the United States, disbursement of the amount may be altered as felt necessary. </em></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div><strong>What documentation is required from students?</strong></div>
</div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">Students should be prepared, upon request, to provide Google or the host organization with transcripts from their accredited institution as proof of enrollment or admission status. Transcripts do not need to be official (photo copy of original will be sufficient).</span></p>
<div><strong>I would like to use the work I did for my Google Policy Fellowship to obtain course credit from my university. Is this acceptable?</strong></div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">Yes. If you need documentation from Google to provide to your school for course credit, you can contact Google. We will not provide documentation until we have received a final evaluation from your mentoring organization.</span></p>
<h3>Host Organizations</h3>
<div>
<div>
<div><strong>What is Google's relationship with the Centre for Internet and Society?</strong></div>
</div>
</div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">Google provides the funding and administrative support for individual fellows directly. Google and the Centre for Internet and Society are not partners or affiliates. The Centre for Internet and Society does not represent the views or opinions of Google and cannot bind Google legally.</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/google-policy-fellowship'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/google-policy-fellowship</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaFeaturedInternet Governance2011-08-02T07:34:24ZBlog EntryDigital Natives with a Cause? —Workshop in Santiago — an Afterthought
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/santiago-workshop-an-after-thought
<b>The Digital Natives had their third and final workshop in Santiago, Chile from 8 to 10 February 2011. Once again CIS and Hivos joined hands to organise the event. Samuel Tettner, Digital Natives Coordinator from CIS narrates his experiences from the workshop in this blog post. </b>
<p></p>
<p>For three days, from 8 to 10 February, I spent most of the days and almost one full night at the Digital Natives with a Cause? Workshop. The day before the workshop, I met the facilitators: <a class="external-link" href="http://www.karaandrade.com">Kara</a>, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.twitter.com/markun">Pedro</a> and <a class="external-link" href="http://mx.linkedin.com/in/jmcasanueva">Juan-Manuel</a>. All three of them were quite enthusiastic with each one specializing on an aspect of the research objectives. That night, I had my first formal meeting with the participants in the conference room of Hotel Windsor in Santiago. It is always fascinating to meet a large group of people, especially since you have been corresponding with them for a couple of weeks, have read about them and their projects, made images in your head of how they look, how they act, how they will get along with each other and so on. </p>
<p>I was particularly excited about the workshop in Santiago since it presented itself to me an opportunity to re-connect with a side of Latin America that I had not experienced. I moved from Venezuela to the United States at the age of 15. I don’t know about everyone else, but when I was 15, I was mostly interested in music, movies, my friends, fast cars, video games, and a whole lot of the nonsense stuff. Meeting these highly motivated young men and women from all over the American continent and the Caribbean islands allowed me to connect with the more nuanced and matured side of my identity— a side that had only heard English spoken to it.</p>
<p>The
actual workshop took place at the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.bibliotecasantiago.cl">Biblioteca de Santiago</a>, a library in Santiago, a beautiful modern building, with an architecture that rivalled the best libraries I ever saw in the world. Our local partner <a class="external-link" href="http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/">Rising Voices</a>, had done an incredible job of organizing the logistics. The workshop opened with an ice-breaking exercise that unlike most ice-breaking exercises required some neural movement. Participants were asked to come up with a word that described their practice, politics or ideology. You see the workshop participants were young people who engage with digital technologies to create social and political change. I chose my word ‘innovation’ mainly because it’s an idea that’s been hunting my day-dreams lately, but also because I knew it would elicit interesting responses. I briefly sat down with Luis Carlos from Peru and Joan from the Dominican Republic, whose words were ‘stories’ and also ‘creative’. A blog post about that experience can be found <a class="external-link" href="http://digitalnatives.in/fitoria/blogs/sharing-common-knowledge-freedom">here</a>.</p>
<p>Afterwards we had the pleasure of hearing from Juan-Manuel, the facilitator from Mexico. Juan-Manuel talked about issues of participation, motivation to do social change, impact of our engagements and other social change related processes. He left us with three big questions that stayed with us for the rest of the afternoon:</p>
<ul><li>What is our motivation to do social work? Where does it come from? Where does it end? How did it start? Can it be replicated?</li><li>What is incidence / impact? How can one measure impact?</li><li>What does one need to know to create social impact?</li></ul>
<p>I got in a group with Adolfo from Nicaragua, Maria Del Mar from Paraguay, Karl from Haiti and Julio from Chile. Kara was our facilitator for the discussion. A blog post about that experience by Maria Del Mar can be found <a class="external-link" href="http://digitalnatives.in/marzavala/blogs/motivation-incidence-knowledge-0">here</a>.
After discussing for about one hour, we made a white paper that visually illustrated` our discussion. We decided to make a word / concept cloud and mix it with a collage. That was it. With a lot of anticipation and nervousness the first day of our workshop ended.</p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/chile3.JPG/image_preview" alt="Chile3" class="image-inline" title="Chile3" /></p>
<p><br />Oh wait! I forgot to add a small detail, that day Nishant also taught us how to do a Bollywood dance. I didn’t take any pictures, but I hope someone did!</p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Chileworkshop2.jpg/image_preview" alt="Chile4" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Chile4" /></p>
<p>On the second day, Pedro Markun from Brazil opened the floor with a thought-provoking presentation. Unfortunately, I missed most of the presentation, but if one is to judge by the tweets, it was very inspiring. After the presentation, we participated in a bar camp. During this activity participants proposed the topics for discussion, out of which we selected five to focus on. I decided to join the conversation about ‘digital rights’, a topic proposed by Andres from Venezuela. Brendon from Trinidad and Tobago, Luis Carlos and Roberto from Peru, and Joan from the DR also participated in this discussion. I wrote a small blog about my opinion on this conversation <a class="external-link" href="http://digitalnatives.in/tettner/blogs/discussion-about-digital-rights">here</a>.</p>
<p>During the second half of the day, the process was reversed and instead of us participants writing down concepts we wanted to talk about, five words were written on the board: mobilization, network building, awareness, campaigns, and representation. This activity, called HOW DO YOU SPELL PROCESS? asked us to choose the word with which we identify the most; it could be the word we know the most about, or the least about, or the word we’re most interested in implementing in our practice. I joined the mobilization group, because part of the job as the community manager for the Digital Natives project involved motivating the members, involving them in other’s ideas, helping them connect with greater initiatives – all ideas that I think connect with mobilization issues. I sat down with Maria Carmelita from Argentina, Brendon from T&B and Francisco from Chile.</p>
<p>After we were all settled in the group plenary after this activity, Fieke had a dictatorial proclamation to make: we then had around 12 hours to make a visual presentation (a video, a play, a sketch and others) about our discussions during HOW DO YOU SPELL PROCESS?</p>
<p>I met Brendon, Francisco, and Carmelita shortly after for dinner and the planning of our video. We decided to have an Indian night, which is ironic since I now live in India, yet the experience was very interesting: I tried ‘curry’ for the first time in my life! For our video, we decided to make a cheesy, 1984-esque “how to” video to change the world through mobilization. The video can be found <a class="external-link" href="http://digitalnatives.in/mariacarmelita/videos/mobilisation-three-steps-program-0">here</a>. Check out the other videos as well, they all are quite interesting and thought-provoking.</p>
<p>Finally, on the third day after a showing of the videos and plays, the last facilitator, Kara from Guatemala, shared with us her personal journey into her social commitment. From growing up in a banana plantation in Guatemala, to her use of digital technologies to raise funds to build a house for her uncle, Kara’s story inspired all in attendance. Kara told her story through a specific framework, which was named the Matrix. The Matrix consisted of re-framing one’s story through four lenses: dream, discovery, design and destiny. We then broke into groups and reflected into our own journeys with technology using the same framework.</p>
<p>In the end, we all went to a nice restaurant and had a common dinner. I love those tables of over 20+people; you can switch seats and change conversations instantly. Overall, the workshop was a huge learning experience. I was able to meet some similar people from Latin America, and better understand the cultural context of the intersection of technology and the social and the political spheres. With the last workshop now over, we have collected a plethora of research materials which we will analyze during the second phase of the Digital Natives with a Cause? project. The journey still continues.</p>
<p>Thanks to all of you who made the
experience Possible!.</p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Chileworkshop1.jpg/image_preview" alt="chile2" class="image-inline image-inline" title="chile2" /></p>
<p>For info on schedule of events, organisers and participants, click <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/publications/workshop-schedule/at_download/file" class="internal-link" title="Digital Natives Santiago Workshop Schedule">here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/santiago-workshop-an-after-thought'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/santiago-workshop-an-after-thought</a>
</p>
No publishertettnerFeaturedWorkshopDigital Natives2012-01-03T10:16:18ZBlog EntryPrivacy Matters — Conference Report
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy/privacy-nujsconference-summary
<b>A one-day conference on Privacy Matters was held on Sunday, 23 January 2011 at the National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) Law School in Kolkata. This was the first of a series of eleven conferences on ‘privacy’ that Privacy India is scheduled to host in different Indian cities from January to June this year. Members of Parliament, Sri Manoj Bhattacharya from the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and Sri Nilotpal Basu from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI (M) spoke in the conference. Students, the civil society and lawyers also participated in it.</b>
<h3>Introduction<br /></h3>
<p>The conference was held to discuss elements of the privacy legislation that has been proposed to the Parliament of India, and the UID Bill and project. The conference focused on the tensions between privacy and society that exist in India today, and acted as a space for opinion sharing and discussion. Privacy India which was formed under the auspices of Privacy International, a UK based organization that works to protect the right of privacy around the world, the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), an NGO based in Bangalore, and Society in Action Group (SAG), an NGO based in Delhi joined hands to host this event.</p>
<p>Rajan Gandhi, founder of SAG opened the conference with an explanation of the mandate of Privacy India, the objective of which is of raising awareness, sparking civil action and promoting democratic dialogue around privacy challenges and violations in India. One of Privacy India's goals is to build consensus towards the promulgation of comprehensive privacy legislation in India through consultations with the public, legislators and the legal and academic community.</p>
<h3>Keynote</h3>
<p>The keynote speech was delivered by Dr. Sudhir Krishnaswamy professor of law and governance. Dr. Krishnaswamy began by outlining the present situation of privacy in India. The right to privacy has been read into Sections 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India through case law, which has defined privacy — among other things — as the right to personal autonomy, the right against unreasonable search and seizure, and as a fundamental right that is critical to the person, but does not supersede public or national interest. Dr. Krishnaswamy also raised many intriguing questions including: what does privacy mean to India — is it linked to a person’s dignity and their honour? Or is it purely concerned with misappropriation of information, and further is privacy in India an issue of the individual or an issue of the family and the community? He also described the philosophical groundings of privacy as being in the right to dignity, the right to autonomy, and the misappropriation of information. </p>
<h3>Privacy Challenges</h3>
<p>The conference was spread into three sessions. In the first session Prashant Iyengar, head researcher of the project at Privacy India, spoke about the challenges that India specifically is facing in shaping a privacy legislation including: the need to balance the right to information/transparency and privacy, the need to create a definition of privacy that does not exclude lower classes and is not a negative right, but instead a positive right, and the problem of ubiquitous surveillance that is happening in society today. Elonnai Hickok, policy analyst at Privacy India, spoke specifically on wire tapping, and the Nira Radia tapes. In her presentation she first outlined other countries definitions of privacy which include: the right to be left alone, the protection from unauthorized searches, and the right to control information about oneself through consent. Using the case study of Nira Radia and Ratan Tata she spoke about the rising concern of wire tapping in the country as being indicative of a social change and relationship of the state and government. Elonnai also raised questions concerning whether privacy should be made inversely proportional to public figures, and if public interest will always supersede the private right of individuals.</p>
<h3>UID and Privacy</h3>
<p>The second session of the conference focused on the UID Bill and privacy. Presentations from NUJS student Amba Kak and Sai Vinod raised concerns about the UID project and privacy. Their presentation also compared and contrasted identity schemes of other countries with the UID. A few similarities that they found amongst all scheme were: the collection of data, the processing of data, and the storing of data. Deva Prasad from the National Law School of Bangalore presented on constitutional elements of the UID scheme ranging from loopholes in the Bill to connections that can be made when the UID Bill is placed in the larger picture. Sri Manoj Bhattacharya (MP) from RSP voiced his concerns of the UID, and emphasized that by giving an individual a number which acts as their fundamental identity which they use to function in society, the government in fact is eroding an individual’s actual identity, and that is an invasion of privacy. Sri Nilotpal Basu (MP) from CPI (M) spoke out strongly against the UID, voicing that his greatest concern with the UID is that it will be a way for corporate bodies to target individuals as consumers, and that privacy legislation could be used as a way for corporate bodies to hide from the public eye.</p>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>In the concluding session the floor was opened up to the public for questions and opinion sharing. Many participants shared what they believed needed to be included in privacy legislation, and what issues a privacy legislation needs to address. A few of these include: privacy rights and the media, privacy and the right to information, the privacy rights of minorities, and the privacy rights of the government. Also types of regulatory models for privacy were discussed. For instance, should privacy in India be represented and protected through a data protection law, or should privacy be seen as a fundamental right to privacy? Should privacy be represented through a broad framework, or through sector specific statutes? What should the redressal and enforcement mechanisms look like? </p>
<p>As seen from the presentations and the comments at the conference one thing which is clear is that privacy is an issue that concerns every person in India. Over the next six months Privacy India will be conducting ten more conferences in different Indian cities to engage the public in dialogues of privacy and raise awareness around the issues of privacy. The next workshop will be held on 5 February 2011 in Bangalore.</p>
<p>Download the conference summary <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy-kolkata-report" class="internal-link" title="Privacy India Calcutta Conference">here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy/privacy-nujsconference-summary'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy/privacy-nujsconference-summary</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaFeaturedPrivacy2011-01-27T10:22:55ZBlog EntryCall for Comments for Report on Open Government Data in India
https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/open-government-data-report
<b>The Centre for Internet & Society is pleased to announce a public call for comments on the Report on Open Government Data in India prepared by Glover Wright, Pranesh Prakash, Sunil Abraham and Nishant Shah.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This report situates the current move towards open government data in India in the context of the country’s growingly sophisticated information and communications technology (ICT) practices as well as the Right to Information Act. It relies primarily on conversations—both on the record and off—with government officials, businesses, civil society organizations, and individual activists. For background it relies on a review of the literature relevant to OGD and RTI generally, to present a snapshot of where India stands now in respect to OGD, and to predict where it is likely to go in the near future. It seeks to understand what “open government data” means in an Indian context, and what effects institutionalized open data practices and ideas might have on Indian society. Finally, it suggests certain technical and policy strategies for developing, promoting, and implementing, and maintaining a robust open government data policy in India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Please do write in to Pranesh Prakash (pranesh at cis-india.org) with any suggestions, criticisms, or general comments that you have by 30 January 2011.</p>
<p>Download the complete report <a class="internal-link" href="http://www.cis-india.org/openness/publications/ogd-report" title="Open Government Data Report">here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/open-government-data-report'>https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/open-government-data-report</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaOpen DataFeaturedOpenness2013-03-01T05:50:49ZBlog EntryCall for Comments for Report on the Online Video Environment in India
https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/comments-online-video-report
<b>The Open Video Alliance, the Centre for Internet and Society and iCommons are pleased to announce a public call for comments on version 1 of "Online Video Environment in India: A Survey Report".</b>
<p><a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/publications/content-access/online-video-india-survey-v1" class="internal-link" title="The Online Video Environment in India: A Survey Report">This report</a> is an outcome of <a href="https://cis-india.org/advocacy/openness/blog/open-video-research" class="external-link">a research</a> <a class="external-link" href="http://openvideoalliance.org/2010/04/research-with-centre-for-internet-society-bangalore/?l=en">project</a> that seeks to survey the online video environment in India and the opportunities this new medium presents for creative expression and civic engagement. This report by Siddharth Chadha, Ben Moskowitz, and Pranesh Prakash seeks to define key issues in the Indian context and begins to develop a short-term policy framework to address them.</p>
<p>The basic assumption of this paper is that the online video medium should support creative and technical innovation, competition, and public participation, and that open source technology can help develop these traits. These assumptions are not elaborated upon here. Instead, this report looks at questions of “openness” that are not strictly technological and legal; that are specific to video in India; and that provide points of entry to a simple policy framework.</p>
<p>Please do write in to Ben Moskowitz (ben at openvideoalliance.org) and Pranesh Prakash (pranesh at cis-india.org) with any suggestions, criticisms, or general comments that you have by January 20, 2011.</p>
<p><a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/publications/content-access/online-video-india-survey-v1" class="internal-link" title="The Online Video Environment in India: A Survey Report">Download the paper</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/comments-online-video-report'>https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/comments-online-video-report</a>
</p>
No publisherpraneshOpennessFeaturedOpen Video2012-12-14T12:12:14ZBlog EntryDigital Natives with a Cause? - workshop in Santiago Open Call
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digital-natives-with-a-cause-workshop-in-santiago-open-call
<b>The third and final workshop in the Digital Natives with a Cause? research project will take place in Santiago, Chile, from the 8 to 10 February. An open call for participation follows. </b>
<p style="text-align: center; ">An Open Call for Participation</p>
<p>As the Internet and digital technologies become more widespread, the world is shrinking: we are constantly connected to our contexts, our people, our cultures and our networks. And you, yes YOU are a part of this change. In fact, as a digital native– someone to whom digital technologies are central to life – you are directly affecting the lives of many, sometimes even without knowing about it.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/">Centre for Internet and Society </a>and <a href="http://www.hivos.nl/english/Knowledge-programme">Hivos</a> in collaboration with <a href="http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/">Rising Voices</a> is calling out to young users of technology to join a global conversation. The 3-day workshop titled “From Face to Interface” will focus on how youth utilize new platforms, media and spaces of communication and expression in the digital age. If you have used digital technologies to make your voice heard, to express your opinion in creative ways or to create new knowledge online, we want to hear from you. These can be stories where you have used a mobile phone, GPS or PDA to access the Internet and reduce the online-offline divide, stories where you accessed interactive platforms like user-generated content websites, stories where the use of technology has become part of your identity, or stories where you have been part of a collaborative method of research, production, shared learning process, participation network etc.</p>
<p>We invite you to share your perspectives in an informal conversation along people with similar approaches from neighboring communities. The workshop is open to applicants from, in and around Latin America and the Caribbean who are interested in an interactive and engaging dialogue that marks the beginning of the “Digital Natives with a Cause?” research inquiry into the region. “From Face to Interface” is part of a greater international research project with aims to produce a book in the English language, consolidating Digital Natives knowledge from the Global South. Moreover, the workshop aims at building a Knowledge Network in collaboration with the other participants and partners at previous workshops in <a href="http://www.digitalnatives.in/">Taipei and Johannesburg</a>. Hence, a good working knowledge of English is necessary. This workshop will include the organizers based in India and the Netherlands, and participants will also come from countries where Spanish is not the primary language. Hence, a good working knowledge of English is necessary.Communication during the workshop will be English with Spanish language translations made available in selected parts of the workshop.</p>
<p>Participants can register by filling in an online <a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/fromfacetointerface">application</a></p>
<p>form by January 4th, 2011.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Selected participants will be contacted by 8th January 2011. Travel expenses and accommodation will be provided to the selected participants. For more information do check out the frequently asked questions (FAQ) <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digital-natives-with-a-cause-workshop-in-santiago" class="external-link">here</a>. For any questions, concerns or comments please contact <a href="mailto:digitalnatives@cis-india.org">digitalnatives@cis-india.org</a></p>
<p>.</p>
<p>Dates: February 8-10th, 2011</p>
<p>Venue: Central Library of Chile, Santiago, Chile</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digital-natives-with-a-cause-workshop-in-santiago-open-call'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digital-natives-with-a-cause-workshop-in-santiago-open-call</a>
</p>
No publishertettnerFeaturedDigital Natives2011-09-22T11:40:12ZBlog EntryDigital Natives with a Cause? Thinkathon: Position Papers
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/position-papers
<b>The Digital Natives with a Cause? Thinkathon conference co-organised by Hivos and the Centre for Internet and Society is being held from 6 to 8 December at the Hague Museum for Communication. The position papers are now available online.</b>
<p>The emergence of digital and Internet technologies have changed the world as we know it. Processes of interpersonal relationships, social communication, economic expansion, political protocols and governmental mediation are all undergoing a significant translation, across the world, in developed and emerging Information and Knowledge societies. These processes also affect the ways in which social transformation, political participation and interventions for development take place.</p>
<p>The Digital Natives with a Cause? research inquiry seeks to look at the potentials of social change and political participation through technology practices of people in emerging ICT contexts. It particularly aims to address knowledge gaps that exist in the scholarship, practice and popular discourse around an increasing usage, adoption and integration of digital and Internet technologies in social transformation processes.</p>
<p>The programme has three main components. The first is to incorporate the users (often young, but not always so) as stakeholders in the construction of policies and discourse which affect their lives in very material ways. The second is to capture, with a special emphasis on change, different relationships with and deployment of technologies in different parts of the world. The third is to further extend the network of knowledge stakeholders where scholars,practitioners, policy makers and the Digital Natives themselves, come together in dialogue to identify the needs and interventions in this field.</p>
<p>In the late summer of 2010 two workshops, in Taiwan and South Africa, brought together 50 Digital Natives from Asia and Africa to place their practice in larger social and political legacies and frameworks. The ‘<a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/talkingback/?searchterm=talking%20back" class="external-link">Talking Back</a>’ workshop in Taiwan looked at the politics, implications and processes of talking back and being political and the ‘<a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/my-bubble-my-space-my-voice-workshop-perspective-and-future" class="external-link">My Bubble, My Voice and My Space</a>’ workshop in Johannesburg looked at change, change processes and the role of Digital Natives in it.</p>
<p>For the Digital Natives with a Cause? Thinkathon that will be held in The Hague, The Netherlands from 6 to 8 December 2010, Digital Natives from the workshops in Taipei and Johannesburg have provided us with their take on social change and political participation in the following position papers. They look at issues of: what does it mean to be a Digital Native? What is the relationship of people growing up with new technologies and change? What are the processes by which change is produced? Can you institutionalize Digital Natives with a Cause Activities? How do you make it sustainable in each context?</p>
<p>We hope you will find the Digital Natives with a Cause? position papers inspiring, thought-provoking and challenging.</p>
<p><img alt="" /> Download the position papers <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/position-papers.pdf" class="internal-link" title="Thinkathon Position Papers">here </a>[PDF, 1173 KB] <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/position-papers.pdf" class="internal-link" title="Thinkathon Position Papers"><br /></a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/position-papers'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/position-papers</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaDigital ActivismRAW PublicationsDigital NativesFeaturedPublicationsResearchers at Work2015-05-15T11:34:35ZBlog EntryMy Bubble, My Space, My Voice workshop - Perspective and future
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/my-bubble-my-space-my-voice-workshop-perspective-and-future
<b>The second workshop for the “Digital Natives with a Cause?” research project named “My Bubble, My Space, My Voice” took place at the Link Center of Wits University, in Johannesburg, South Africa from 6 November 2010 to 9 November 2010. Samuel Tettner, Digital Natives Co-cordinator shares his perspective on the workshop.</b>
<p></p>
The workshop was organized by the <a href="https://cis-india.org/" class="external-link">Center for Internet
and Society, Bangalore</a> in partnership with <a class="external-link" href="http://www.hivos.nl/english">Hivos</a>, Netherlands and put together with indispensable help from <a class="external-link" href="http://www.africancommons.org">The African Commons Project</a>
<p>. The
workshop saw the coming together of 21 people, in the age bracket of 20 to 35, from eight African
countries, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Morocco, Egypt and Kenya.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They came in answer to a call; they came because they all felt they
were represented in some way or manner by one term whose simple nature hides a
myriad of socio-cultural nuances: <strong>Digital Native</strong>. They came thinking these
nuances were going to be explained to them, and they were wrong. The spirit of
the workshop can be summarized in one moment, where one Kenyan participant <a class="external-link" href="http://digitalnatives.in/users/mtotowajirani">Simeon
Oriko</a> commented after a bar camp session: “I have more questions than I came in
with!” Some of these questions were: "Who is a Digital Native?" "What is a cause" " What is the difference between information and knowledge" "How can a globalized world account for questions of indigenous cultural productions" " What are the necessary skills to use the internet" " How can the effects of an online campaign be assessed" and "is the information age a revolution"? </p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/jozi2.JPG/image_preview" alt="Joburg2" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Joburg2" /></p>
<p>They,
who at first so adamantly claimed to be digital natives, found themselves
question their assumptions and the labels assigned to them externally. Through
a series of informal and unconference style engagements, participants were able
to reflect on their ideology and practice. These engagements were facilitated
by a team of more experienced practitioners, Marlon Parker, Shafika Isaacs and
Adam Haupt, who offered their insight and perspective to elicit relevant ideas
and conversations.</p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/jozi3.JPG/image_preview" alt="joburg3" class="image-inline image-inline" title="joburg3" /></p>
<p>The
conversations centered around inquires on three focus areas: practice, politics and
ideology. Through the practice of Marlon at <a class="external-link" href="http://www.rlabs.org/about/">Rlabs</a> we learned about the key role
of “champions”, or people who have a vested interest in the organization and
are instrumental in crafting progress. Marlon also facilitated a group activity
in which participants broke into small sub-groups and had discussions around five
process-related keywords: Mobilization, Representation, Awareness, Campaign, and
Network Building.</p>
<p>We discussed politics with <a class="external-link" href="http://www.cfms.uct.ac.za/faculty/staff-directory/Adam">Adam Haupt</a> who made us aware
that the use of technology for social change is not a practice which originates
in the information age, as exemplified by South African hip-hop artists who
utilized mix tapes to spread socially conscious messages. Adam's presentations inspired participants to think of words that described their perspective and then break into groups, in an activity called "birds of a feather". In these groups, participants were able to discuss back and for about common ideas and identify differences in practice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lastly, we discussed
ideology and the power of having strongly strucutred convictions, dreams and ideals with Shafika Isaacs who invited us to frame our journey with technology in our respective projects through a 2-2 Matrix: Dream, Design, Discover and Destiny. James Mlambo, one of the participants from
Zimbabwe, has written an inclusive account of the day to day events <a class="external-link" href="http://digitalnatives.in/mlambo/blogs/digital-natives-workshop-sa-was-eyeopener">here</a>.</p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/jozi5.JPG/image_preview" alt="joburg5" class="image-inline image-inline" title="joburg5" /></p>
<p>Post the workshop,
participants have started pouring their perspectives, stories
and anecdotes on the <a class="external-link" href="http://digitalnatives.in/">website</a>. At the time of this writing, they have already started pouring all this new knowledge onto the website: congealing new perspectives derived
not only from their own practice but also form shared lessons, within this workshop and
as connected with the Asian workshop which took place in Taiwan. Some of these new
perspectives will help us to better understand many questions about digital
natives, many others will provide insight into the knowledge gaps
identified by Sunil Abraham and Nishant Shah.</p>
<p>If I have learned something from
my experience with the Digital Natives project so far is that the idea that
young people who utilize technology are doing so for self-gratifying reasons, are
selfish and immature, and are disengaged from the political context is not
simplistic but plain wrong. At least some considerable portion is motivated and engaged with their respective social and
political context. Through their practice they are challenging previously
established conceptions and are creating their own definitions of engagement. I
now see it as crucial to the future of our information society to listen to
these people and provide them with the necessary platforms and support so that
they can have the positive impact they so want to achieve and strive for.</p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/jozi6.JPG/image_preview" alt="joburg6" class="image-inline image-inline" title="joburg6" /></p>
<p>Proceedings from the workshop are available <a class="external-link" href="http://digitalnatives.in/africa">online</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/my-bubble-my-space-my-voice-workshop-perspective-and-future'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/my-bubble-my-space-my-voice-workshop-perspective-and-future</a>
</p>
No publishertettnerFeaturedDigital Natives2012-01-03T10:32:41ZBlog EntryDigital Natives with a Cause?— Workshop in South Africa—FAQs
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digital-natives-workshop-faqs
<b>The second international Digital Natives Workshop "My Bubble, My Space, My Voice" will be held in Johannesburg from 7 to 9 November 2010. Some frequently asked questions regarding the upcoming workshop are answered in this blog entry.</b>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph"><strong>1. </strong><strong>When and where is the workshop going to be
held? </strong></p>
<p>The workshop will take place over three days from 7 to 9 November 2010, in Johannesburg, South Africa.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph"><strong>2. </strong><strong>Who should apply? </strong></p>
<p>The organizers, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.africancommons.org/">The African Commons Project</a>, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.hivos.nl/english">Hivos</a> and the Centre for Internet and Society are interested in
hearing from <strong>young people</strong>, who
utilize <strong>digital technologies</strong> to
create <strong>social change </strong>in their
societies or social circles.</p>
<p>Further, the regional focus of the
workshop is on <strong>Africa</strong>, hence, only
African citizens or those in an African setting should apply.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph"><strong>3. </strong><strong>How can I apply? </strong></p>
<p>You can fill an online <a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KLNMXGW">application</a>. Alternatively,
you can email <a href="mailto:digitalnatives@cis-india.org">digitalnatives@cis-india.org</a>
and ask for an email application.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph"><strong>4. </strong><strong>What is Digital Natives with a Cause?</strong></p>
<p>"Digital Natives with a Cause?" is an international, collaborative research project which aims to increase the current understanding of Digital Natives (there is not one single definition, that’s why we’re doing this project! – but it could be understood as people who interact naturally with digital technologies) and their role in their particular societies.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph"><strong>5. </strong><strong>What are the objectives of Digital Natives
with a Cause? How does this workshop fit in?</strong></p>
<p>"Digital Natives with a Cause?" aims to incorporate a first-person narrative of the use of technology by youth for social change into the ongoing dialogue. To do this, several case studies of varying cultural backgrounds and diverse methodologies will be compiled into a book. The case studies will be the result of three-day workshop conducted across the developing world. Last summer the Asian workshop happened in Taiwan. Next spring the South American workshop will take place in Chile.</p>
<p>"Digital Natives with a Cause?" also aims to incorporate the participants into a broad network of Digital Natives from around the world, with similar methodology and approach. Through this network, Digital Natives will be able to express concerns, share resources, stay connected with peers and learn from each other.</p>
<p>You can read a report on "Digital
Natives with a Cause?" <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/uploads/dnrep1">here</a>.</p>
<p><strong>6. OK, so what can I expect from this workshop?</strong></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">You can expect an informal setting where interactive methods of communication help you gain a better understanding of the context of your project. For example, you will get to meet and interact with the participants of the previous workshop in Taipei. You can expect to reflect about your project: Your motivation, methodology, focus, and context, to name a few, and to draw parallels into other projects in the region. You can expect to interact with a varied and diverse group of young people from around Africa, who like you, use technology for social causes. Overall, you can expect to gain a new perspective about yourself, and the importance of your work.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><strong>7. </strong><strong>Will I learn any new skills in this
workshop?</strong></p>
<p>The short answer is no. The "Digital Natives with a Cause?" project does not aim to train or to build existing capacities among youth users of technology. That said, you will definitely gain a lot of perspective on your individual project and you will learn how it relates to ongoing development processes in the region. You will also meet, interact and hopefully befriend other young users of technology like yourself, enlarging your scope and enriching your experience.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph"><strong>8. </strong><strong>Will expenses be covered?</strong></p>
<p>Yes. Expenses associated with the workshop
(travel and accommodation) will be provided for selected participants.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst"><strong>9. </strong><strong>When is the last date to apply? </strong></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><strong> </strong>The last day to apply is Tuesday, 12 October 2010.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><strong>10. </strong><strong>Where can I get more information?</strong></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"> Do check out <a href="http://www.digitalnatives.in/">www.digitalnatives.in</a> for more
information, and please email <a href="mailto:digitalnatives@cis-india.org">digitalnatives@cis-india.org</a>
for questions and concerns.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digital-natives-workshop-faqs'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digital-natives-workshop-faqs</a>
</p>
No publishertettnerRAW EventsDigital NativesFeaturedWorkshopResearchers at WorkEvent2015-05-15T11:35:11ZBlog Entry